Doll with growing tooth



Oct. 27, 1970 w. PAJAK 3,535,818

DOLL WITH GROWING TOOTH Filed sept. 5, 1968 INVENjroR.

ORNFYS United States Patent O 3,535,818 DOLL WITH GROWING TOOTH Witold Pajak, Lyndhurst, NJ., assignor to Remco Industries, Inc., Harrison, NJ. Filed Sept. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 757,578

Int. Cl. A63l1 3/36 U.S. Cl. 46-135 10 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of structures have been designed to smulate the growth of a tooth or teeth in the mouth of a doll. Generally, these structures are based on some sort of weight mechanism attached to the tooth during the entire simulated growth process or at least to initiate the simulated growth process.

In one type of a mechanism for the simulated growth of teeth in a doll, the teeth are adapted to be closed by a weight when the dolls head is tilted from a vertical to a horizontal position.

In another mechanism, the growth of a tooth has been simulated by a tooth pivoted and biased against a cam surface by means of a spring. In this mechanism, the rotation of the cam gradually locks an arm about which the tooth is pivoted to simulate the growth as the cam is revolved by a weight mechanism and the head of the doll is tilted forwardly. Thus, the weight swings the tooth into an exposed position. After the cam element has completed one revolution, the lever on which the tooth is mounted gradually rotates to its retracted position as it rides down a cam surface.

As can be seen from these illustrations, the prior mechanisms for simulating the growth of a dolls tooth are based either on the use of weights to move a tooth from a retracted position to an exposed position or ou the tilting of the doll from one position to another. None of these mechanisms are positively activated. Instead, they are only activated when the doll is tilted or in a certain position.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism whereby a tooth is held in either a retracted or exposed position unless a positive pressure is exerted on one of its component parts. None of the prior art devices provide such a mechanism but instead require weights or the tilting of the doll to simulate the growth of a tooth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a mechanism for simulating the growth of a tooth in a doll. The mechanism is arranged in the head of a doll to move a tooth from a retracted to an exposed position to simulate growth thereof. The tooth is mounted on the end of a pivoted lever arm spring-biased downwardly toward the mouth of the doll. An actuating shaft is provided just beneath the lever arm which is spring-pressed toward the dolls mouth and carries a cam surface on its upper edge. The cam surface is arranged to cooperate with a latch projecting downwardly from the bottom of the pivoted lever arm so that when the shaft is pressed toward the dolls mouth and the tooth on the lever arm is raised upward by the application of a pressure thereon, the latch rides up the cam surface to hold the tooth in a retracted, unexposed position. When the shaft is pressed inwardly, the latch rides down the cam and snaps into a step thereon to lock the actuating shaft in its retracted position. Thus, the lever arm is pivoted forward by the spring and the tooth is visible in the mouth of the doll.

Among the many advantages of the present invention are that means are provided to positively lock and maintain the tooth in either its retracted or exposed position regardless of the movement of the doll, or the position in which the doll may be placed. Also, the present mechanism is simple, may be made of inexpensive materials, and is simply operated by a child.

The various features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. l shows the head of a doll with a tooth visible in the mouth thereof;

FIG. 2 is a partial view of the pivoted lever arm having the tooth mounted at its end;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional elevational view of the mechanism embodying the present invention inside of the head of a doll showing, by solid and dotted lines, the lever arm with the tooth moving from its retracted position to its exposed position in the head of the doll;

FIG. 4 is a similar side sectional elevational view of the mechanism of that shown in FIG. 3 in which the lever arm tooth is shown, by solid and dotted lines, moving from its exposed position to its retracted position in the head of the doll; and

FIG. 5 is a front, partially cutaway, elevational view of the mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. l, the head 10 of a doll D is shown with a tooth l2 in its exposed position, i.e. visible in the mouth 13 of the doll. The mechanism embodying the present invention, generally indicated by M is arranged in the head 10 of the doll behind its mouth 13. as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

The tooth 12 is mounted on the end of a lever arm 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The lever arm 14 is curved downward at the end on which the tooth 12 is mounted. As shown by solid lines in FIG. 4, when the lever arm is positioned in the space behind the mouth 13, the tooth 12 is visible therein.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mechanism M includes the lever arm 14 pivotally mounted by a pin 22 and biased by a spring 15 downward toward the mouth 13 of the doll D. Just beneath the lever arm 14 there is provided an actuating shaft 16 which is pressed by a spring 32 toward the mouth 13. The shaft 16 is slidably mounted for axial movement toward and away from the mouth 13. On the upper edge of the shaft 16, there is a cam 18 having a downwardly sloping surface 36 which cooperates with a latch 20 extending from the bottom of the lever arm 14 to move the lever arm as described in detail below.

Referring in greater detail to FIG. 3, the lever arm 14 is shown pivotally moved from its retracted position (solid lines) to its forward exposed position (dotted lines). The lever arm 14 is biased downward toward the mouth 13 to its exposed position by means of the spring 15 secured at one end in a slot 26 on the `lever arm 14 and at the opposite end by a pin 218 on the housing 30 of the mechanism M. The actuating shaft 16, just bcneath the lever arm 14, is pressed outward toward the dolls mouth `13 by a spring 32 secured therearound.

The shaft is arranged to move inwardly and outwardly along its longitudinal axis. On the upward end of the shaft 16 adjacent to the mouth 13 of doll 10, there is an actuating surface or iiange 34. The cam 18 on the upper edge of the shaft 16, has a surface 36l which slopes downward toward the mouth 13 of the doll D; its lower' edge ends in a sharp downward step 38.

The cam 18 is mounted by a peg 40 extending from its bottom surface in an opening 42 midway in the shaft 16. As can be seen in FIG. 3 (solid lines), the bottom surface of the latch 20 rests on the sloping surface 36 when the shaft 16 is in its normal forward position.

As shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3, iwhen the shaft 16 is pushed rearward, the latch 20 by means of the force of spring 15 on the lever arm 14, snaps into the step 38 of the cam 18. Accordingly, the shaft 16 is maintained in its retracted position and the lever arm 14 is maintained in its forward exposed position, with the tooth l2 exposed in the mouth 13 of the doll.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the lever arm 14 is moved from its retracted position (solid lines) to its exposed forward position (dotted lines) by exerting pressure against the actuating surface or flange 34 on shaft `16 to overcome the force of spring 32 on the shaft 16 and any frictional force existing between the bottom surface of latch 20 and the cam surface 36. As illustrated. a pacitier P is pressed against the flange 34 on the end of shaft 16. The ange 16 is preferably conical in shape with a concave surface facing the mouth 13 of the doll, which provides an appropriate recepticle for an instrument such as the pacifier P, or a finger. The pacifier P, when placed in the dolls mouth presses against the Bange 34 of shaft 16 and overcomes the frictional interaction between the cam surface 36 and the latch 20 as well as the force of shaft spring 32 and allows spring 15 to pull the lever arm i4 into its forward position and accordingly, the tooth l2 in its exposed position. ic. visible in the mouth of the doti. Also. with the latch 2() in the step 38 of the cam 18, the actuating shaft 16 is locked in its retracted position (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3)

In order to release the shaft 16 from its retracted position and to return the lever arm 14 to its retracted unexposed position, an upward pressure must be applied to the tooth 12, As illustrated in FIG. 4, a spoon S is used to apply an upward pressure to the tooth 12 and cause the lever arm 14 to move from its forward position (solid lines) to its retracted position (dotted lines). The upward pressure on the tooth 12 overcomes the combined forces of spring 15 and any frictional forces existing between the surface of the latch 20 and the cam 18. Thus, the latch 2() is moved upward and the springs 32 forces the shaft 16 with the cam 18 forward toward the mouth 13 of the doll. When the pressure exerted on the tooth 12 is withdrawn, the lever arm 14 is returned to its retracted position (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 4), and the tooth 12 is invisible. The lever arm is maintained in its retracted position because the latch member 20 is resting on the sloping surface 36 of cani 18. To facilitate the interaction between the cam surface 36 and the bottom surface of the latch 20, both surfaces are beveled.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the mechanism M, showing the lever arm 14 and tooth 12 in their forward exposed position.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the actuating shaft 18, is slidably mounted on a support member 44 and an opening 46 in the housing 30. The housing 30 is mounted to the walls 48 of the dolls head 10 by pins 50. In order to provide additional support for the entire mechanism M a housing flange `52 is provided which rests on the shoulders 54 of the doll D.

In operation of the present mechanism, reference is made to both FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown by solid lines in FIG. 3, the tooth 12 on the end of lever arm 14 is in a retracted invisible position. The manner in which the simulation of the growth of a tooth is accomplished is is follows: An object such as the pacifier P is inserted into the mouth 13 of the doll, and pressed against the flange 34 to move the shaft 16 to its retracted position (dotted lines). As the shaft 16 is pushed backward, the latch 20 on the lever arm 14 slides down the sloping surface 36 of the cam 18 into the step 38 and locks the shaft 16 in its retracted position. Accordingly, the lever arm 14 is pivoted to its forward position and the tooth 12 is visible in the mouth 13 of the doll.

Conversely. the manner in which the tooth 12 is retracted from its visible or exposed position, is as follows: An object, such as the spoon S is inserted into the mouth 13 of the doll and pressed against the tooth 12 with an upward motion to move the lever arm 14 upward to its retracted position (as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 4). As the lever arm 14 is moved upward, the latch 20 is also raised upward from the step 38 and slides up the cam surface 36 of the cam 18 as the shaft 16 is pressed forward by the spring 32. With the shaft 16 in its forward position, the latch 20 rests on the cam surface 36 and the tooth and lever arm are maintained in a retracted position. Thus, the tooth 12 is not visible in the mouth of the doll.

An important feature of the present invention is that the latch means and the cam means are cooperatively arranged to temporarily lock the respective movable parts of the mechanism in alternate positions, as may be required in use. The movable parts are locked in either of their exposed or unexposed positions regardless of the movement of the doll or position in which the doll is placed.

From the foregoing it is understood that the present mechanism as described above is suitable for simulating the growth of a tooth in a doll. It is to be noted, however, that the various features of the present mechanism may be used in other devices without the corresponding use of the other features without departing from the scope of the invention as described above and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy doll containing a mechanism adapted to be mounted within the head of said doll behind its mouth to simulate the growth of a tooth, said mechanism cornprising:

(a) an arm having a simulated tooth at one end, said arm being pivotally mounted within said head to permit movement of said tooth between a retracted position and an exposed position, said arm being spring-urged to said exposed position',

(b) a spring-pressed latch means mounted within said head and associated with said arm to hold said arm in said retracted position; and

(c) means accessible through said mouth to release said latch to allow said arm to pivot downward toward the mouth of said doll, whereby said tooth is visible in said mouth.

2. A doll as set forth in claim 1, in which said release means includes a shaft slidably mounted beneath said arm and arranged to move longitudinally toward and away from said mouth, said shaft having a cam surface on its upper edge which is operatively associated with said latch means so when said shaft is moved away from said mouth said latch moves over said cam surface toward said mouth and said arm is allowed to move toward said exposed position.

3. A doll as set forth in claim 2, wherein said shaft is spring-pressed toward said mouth.

4. A doll as set forth in claim 3, wherein said cam surface slopes downwardly toward said mouth and said latch means rests on said cam surface when said arm is in its retracted position.

5. A doll as set forth in claim 4, wherein there is a step on said cam surface so when said shaft is moved away from said mouth said latch means snaps into said step to hold said shaft in a retracted position and thereby hold said arm in said exposed position.

6. A doll containing a mechanism adapted to be mounted within the head of said doll behind its mouth to simulate the growth of a tooth, said mechanism comprising:

(a) a lever arm pivotally mounted within the head of said doll, said pivoted lever arm being springbiased downward toward the mouth of said doll, said lever arm having a simulated tooth mounted at one end thereof, said lever arm having a forward and a retracted position, said tooth being visible in said mouth in said forward position and invisible in said retracted position;

(b) a latch extending downward from the bottom of said lever arm;

(c) an actuating shaft slidably mounted beneath said lever arm and being accessible through said mouth, said shaft being arranged to move longitudinally toward and away from said mouth; and

(d) a frictional engaging cam surface on the upper edge of said shaft, said cam surface being operatively associated with said latch so when said shaft is moved away from said mouth said latch moves downwardly and said lever arm is moved toward said forward position, whereby said tooth is visible in said mouth.

7. A doll as set forth in claim 6, including a pacier adapted to fit within said dolls mouth and press against said shaft to move said actuating shaft away from said mouth and thereby release said latch, allowing said tooth to move to its visible position.

8. A doll as set forth in claim 6, wherein said actuating shaft is springpressed toward said mouth.

9. A doll as set forth in claim 8, wherein said cam surface slopes downwardly toward said mouth and said latch rests on said cam surface when said shaft is in forward position toward said mouth.

10. A doll as set forth in claim 9, wherein there is a step on said cam surface so when said shaft is moved away from said mouth said latch snaps into said step to hold said shaft in a retracted position and said lever arm in said forward position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 961,262 6/1910 Slough. 1,999,724 4/1935 Frisch 46-171 2,026,990 l/l936 Manning 46-171 2,556,304 6/1951 Velkas et al. 46-171 3,261,124 7/1966 Bodenstein 46-135 F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 46-171 

